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… As a combat-experienced Marine officer, and a female, I am here to tell you that we are not all created equal, and attempting to place females in the infantry will not improve the Marine Corps as the Nation’s force-in-readiness or improve our national security.

Extremely well written, succinct, and thoughtful. I almost completely agree with her, except for the part where I don’t. This calls for a considered response, not midnight stream-of-conscious meandering, so it’ll have to wait until I am in a more appropriate venue and mentality.

Read the whole damn thing, because it NEEDS to be addressed by people who understand the ramifications, and not just the tools with Ph.d’s and soft pink office feet.

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A gentleman was advising us where to take my dogs, down in Las Vegas. I noticed that he was wearing a Vietnam Veteran pin on his hat, so I grabbed his hand to shake it. He thought that I was going to introduce myself, and told me his name. I said, “welcome home” and he just started tearing up, and mumbled something about today’s vets; I told him that he deserved recognition as well and told him to have a good day. I always worry that I’ve depressed them by reminding them of the past.

Anyways, welcome home to ALL veterans. Have a great holiday.

I’ve been in the middle of a move, hence the lack of content. I just had to share this.

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I’ve been debating on whether to post this link, as it is likely to ruffle feathers, but I believe the author has a very valid point. I also believe that we need India as a political ally, not just an economic one. The history of the relationship between the US, Pakistan, and India is founded in bitterness and old grudges, and it is high time that we re-evaluate who we view as ideological partners and who is diametrically opposed to our values and way of life. The answer is India, and NOT Pakistan. Pakistan’s current regime is duplicitous at best, and at worse, an active enemy working to undermine our efforts to create an open and free society in Afghanistan.

…But the point is that even Saudi Arabia will be a little more worried than it already is. Now imagine if Pakistan’s missiles were capable of reaching Japan, Russia, Western Europe and, err, the continental United States.

India’s leaders have been scared of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons for three decades now. They are already beyond the point where they can be further scared. But the more Pakistan’s behaviour scares the leaders of other countries, not in indirect ways like a subcontinental war or through the export of terrorism, but in direct ways, the more they will see a need to tackle the military-jihadi complex that lies at its source. Few countries of the world, whether they admit it or not, are oblivious to military-jihadi complex’s use of nuclear weapons to shield its jihadi terrorists. If a direct nuclear threat is a high threshold risk, a nuclear blackmail has a relatively lower threshold of probability. (See That’s Washington’s problem)

The effect of all the stockpiling and all the launching by Pakistan will be to spread the risk among a wider group of nations. The quantum of risk India faces doesn’t change…but it will have others sharing similar risks albeit at a lower level. If the men in khaki in Rawalpindi think scaring the important powers of the world is in their interests then, to use a phrase I heard from Arun Shourie (but attributed to Napoleon) we must not interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake.

So let’s join them in cheering the Pakistani military-jihadi complex on the successful launch of Hatf-4/Shaheen1A missile—incidentally a gift from the Clinton Administration—and encourage them to acquire missiles with ever greater ranges. (There’s a small question of whether China will sell them this stuff, but let’s not be curmudgeonly and discredit the scientific talent in Pakistan.)

Recently the third US-India Strategic Dialogue took place, and the relationship between India and Pakistan will be a key part of that dialogue, although I doubt anything of substance will result, as they are as likely to cooperate as the Palestinians and the Israelis. Then again, why should they? How can you cooperate with an opponent whose only goal is the absence of you, in the universe? As with most conflicts, it isn’t the populace that pose a threat, it is those in control: the religious extremists, the military, and the autocracy. Whether it is Iran, North Korea, or Pakistan, the people do not have freedom of knowledge, much less freedom of speech. Pakistan is notorious for allowing its religious minority to make policy and control the direction of the country, and that direction veers farther and farther from representative government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

India has had numerous incidents of terrorist activities, and most are attributed to Pakistan. We, the US and India, both have a vested interest in seeing Pakistan’s militant extremist removed from power and discredited. There is a small but vocal group of expatriate Pakistanis who desperately want to see Pakistan become a modernized and free country. I believe it should be the goal of every nation, but then I am an idealist.

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There are times when I start believing the conspiracy theorists who speak of the military-industrial complex as pulling the strings on politicians. Then my alarm goes off, reminding me to take my happy pills. This article is discussing the British Forces, and their “efforts” to improve force protection, but the heart of the matter goes to the delays in implementing a technology that has apparently been around since before I was born. Why not just screen-print the flag on the uniforms, as it will save money on coffins?

The tragedy, says Cavanagh, is that it has come five years too late. But the even greater tragedy is that the Army had recognised the need for mine protected vehicles in Bosnia in 1996 when it had bought six vehicles for the NATO implementation force mission, only to dispose of them in 2004.

Even more ironically, the Army had pioneered mine protected vehicles in Aden in 1966, which were then used in Omanbetween 1970 and 1973, making the British world leaders in the field. The technology was copied by the Rhodesians, then the South Africans, re-acquired by the British and then exported to the United States.Forty-six years later, mine-protected vehicles are back on the British Army inventory in force. With their arrival, defence secretary Philip Hammond said: “this Government has spent £270m on 300 of these hi-tech, British-built vehicles to help keep our troops properly protected. Our servicemen and women deserve the best protection we can get them”.

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I’ve been out of state to visit family for the passed week or so. It turns out that my family has dial-up, which is equal to no Internet access as far as I’m concerned. Actually, I didn’t mind it at all. No politics, no bad news, and nothing to get my dander in a bunch.

Here’s a photo of my legal counsel conferring with a possible client.

He rarely says “neigh” to anyone in need.

Yeah, I went there.

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The Unknown Soldiers. is one story after another about the individual service members, and their families, who have given their lives or limbs for a greater cause. The stories are painful to read, as each one brings tears to the eyes and a tidal wave of emotion. It is difficult to justify drowning in sorrow, when the spouses and family members of the fallen and wounded describe their determination to continue on, in the memory of their loved one.

These soldiers, marines, and airmen believed they were a part of something greater than themselves. They fought and died for their buddies, their families, and their country. Most people will never know why or how the military can bring out the desire to be an instrument of change. Politics is meaningless and irrelevant to those who have seen the true faces of oppression and death. Preventing the bad guys from oppressing and killing the innocent and helpless is a noble and just cause. People can call this jingoism or idealistic, but in the end, all things can be reduced to their most basic components. You can fight to protect others or you can talk about it, but if the bad guys are willing to die for their beliefs then words will not prevent anyone from dying, and you can only hide for so long before they come to force their beliefs on you.

I am thankful for their sacrifices, everyday. The broken minds and bodies of our wounded warriors must be given the full care and attention that we give the smallest child. They have thrown themselves in harm’s way, so that we can comfortably squabble over semantics. They will continue to do it, because that is what you do, when you know that someone has to stand up to the bad guys.